DeMatteis Dean Sina Rabbany: Tech Talent

We at the Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science recognize our proximity to New York City as a major strategic advantage for our students. The variety of company profiles, with their different specializations, sizes and corporate cultures – all located within an easy commuting distance of Hofstra, is immense. That’s one reason why the DeMatteis Co-op Program has mushroomed so quickly since its inception in 2015 (The other reason is our very talented program director Philip Coniglio, who works tirelessly to build connections between our school and its corporate partners). Being so close to New York city means we can place co-op students from all our degree programs in their ideal positions without them having to uproot themselves from home or campus.

There is, however, one region of the country that has an edge on the New York City metropolitan area when it comes to density of high tech companies of special interest to computer science and computer engineering majors. California’s Silicon Valley, home to many of the world’s largest high-tech corporations, including Apple, Inc., Cisco Systems, Facebook, Intel, Oracle Corporation and Sony, Silicon Valley accounts for one-third of all the venture capital investments in the United States.

As a step in bridging the continental divide, we are launching a Hofstra in Silicon Valley initiative we call (NT)2: New Talent for New Technologies, which will take place during the week of January 13 – 19, 2019. We have entered into agreements with several companies, including Apple, Facebook, ILM/Pixar, Sony and SoFi, to host 15 select students from our Department of Computer Science, accompanied by a faculty mentor, on a series of visits including facility tours, meetings with human resources staff members, interaction with technical managers, and panel discussions with other technical personnel. By the end of the week, these lucky students will have met and networked with individuals from many of the cutting-edge firms any graduating senior would love to know more about.

In addition, they will attend a special alumni event where they can meet successful San Francisco Bay Area Hofstra alumni, who can serve as another resource for students aspiring to forge a career in California. Both our current students and our alumni serve as ambassadors of the DeMatteis School around the country. With approximately 3,000 graduates over the past fifty years or so, it’s no surprise that we have established a presence throughout the United States in many engineering professions. This Bay Area group is an especially important, and I look forward to the opportunity to meet them for the few days I can be out there myself.

I have no doubt that this program will be a success for our students, and I see it as a possible template for programs in several other areas of the country in the future. Our goal is to broadcast the DeMatteis experience nationwide, and showcasing to potential employers the new talent emerging from our school is one of the best ways to do that.